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2018 Fake Journal Wrap Up ~
a very delayed summary of my April 2018
Fake Journal. (prepare yourself for a long post)
My character was an 'Old Woman.'
Who am I kidding?! I am in my 60's, and when I
was a kid, that seemed old to me. Now that I'm
there, I think maybe 85 or 90 is 'old.'
Consequently, I had an extremely difficult time
keeping this character separate from myself.
"Me" kept creeping in...my fears and desires for
the future. So I'm not sure that 'me in the future'
counts as 'a different character.'
I've re-posted all of the pages here, for ease
of viewing 'in order.'
Well, it is what it is. And the daily
drawing practice is always good.
Thanks to my friend Diana R., who gifted me with
a little spiral bound book with various sized pages
that had pre-printed backgrounds! It' small. The
pages are about 4 1/2 " wide by 6 1/2" tall.
On day three, I drew my own hand, emphasizing
wrinkles and veins in and effort to make it
look 'older.' But maybe my hands already look
old? They say your hands tend to really show
your age....sigh. One example of how
much trouble I had making this be a
character separate from myself.
I thought if my character were in a nursing home,
plants from home might be one comforting thing
that might have been brought with them.
Used myself as a model. Continuing
confusion if this is a character other than me.
Use of Random phrases, quotes, and song lyrics
for added interest, and sometimes ended up
creating an additional layer of meaning.
I picked "snarky quotes" because I think they
are funny, but it also denotes a fear
that the future 'me' will become a mean old woman.
I know that illness and physical pain can
make a distinct change in personality
of some aging folks.
My husband's canes standing in the corner
became likely models for the day...
as did my flannel nightgown.
Vintage coffee cup drawn sideways in the
journal, with collage added. (text reference
to doctor's appointment came from an old
flyer for a Red Cross blood drive.)
The doctor's office chair drawing (above) is not
dated because it was done prior to the month of
April-in an actual doctor's exam room. I found it
tucked away in my purse, and glued it
into this journal.
I decided I wanted to be able to add collage
to my Fake Journal as well. Drawing over
a vintage music file index card on the left.
This year, Roz Stendahl also provided prompts
and quotes which we could use (or not) on our
pages. Roz is the creater of the Fake Journal
project, which has been ongoing every April.
Visit the link to read more about the project.
About half way through the month, the stamping
of the date became annoying to me, even though
I liked the way it looked on the page. I just
began writing the date and time.
Sometimes the day would go by me, and it
would be the last minute to get
my page done...note the time on the right-hand page!
I really think we should adopt the "levels"
way of referring to age...
Yes, there is definitely sagging and shifting.
And some of us may just learn to care
a little less about what others think of us.
The oxygen mask was a photo on my phone,
taken at an antique mall. I had sent the image to
my son in reference to a Dr. Who episode. I thought
it was cool. The pain reliever needs
no explanation...
Above, a quote from a TV show, I'm not sure
which one. It may have been 'Father Brown,' or
maybe 'Midsomer Murders?'
Did you spot the quote from Clara in a Dr. Who
episode on the left? "Will there be cocktails?" is
a crucial question.
Maybe this is the end of the story, or maybe not.
Reflecting on my goals for 2018, above all
was to keep it simple. Less preparation and
little research makes it much more likely that
I will keep going and finish the project.
I've been doing a Fake Journal in April every
year starting in 2012. The first year I didn't come
close to drawing every day. This year there
were only two days that I missed creating
pages. And that's ok either way. It's for
fun, not for a grade.
It seems like the last two years of Fake Journals
were in many ways difficult. The topic of
homelessness (last year) was difficult because I
had so much difficulty envisioning what life would be
like. This year it was difficult because I had
trouble separating myself from 'me in the future.'
I learned about myself in the process, and
kept going despite sometimes feeling that
I had chosen a depressing topic! You gotta
keep your sense of humor, after all...
See you next April!
